I've Always Hated You
by InvinciChicken
Summary: Franziska meets someone unexpected at the airport... A new angle to the ending. FranziskaEdgeworth oneshot


Before you accuse me of incest... I must say one thing: _they're not related_. There.

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**I've Always Hated You**

Franziska von Karma pushed blindly through the human traffic in the airport, gritting her teeth and sprinting as fast as she could with a suitcase in her hand. What an imbecile her cab driver had been… maneuvering the streets like an inexperienced tourist! She would've whipped him to pieces, but had then painfully remembered where her whip now resided. For now she would have to make do with her hands, shoving people out of her way in her rush.

Finally she saw her terminal, and she stopped gasping at the gate. A quick glance at the clock told her that she was still on time—there were 15 minutes until her flight. Still she felt uneasy that she wasn't at least half an hour early like she usually was. Franziska sighed and brushed herself off, but just as she was about to sit down she heard a voice that made the hairs on her neck suddenly bristle.

"Where are you going, Franziska?" She froze, baring her teeth slightly. Only one person in the world would make her act like this…

"How did you know I was here…?" She growled, narrowing her eyes defiantly. Miles Edgeworth… The man she never wanted to see again.

"With this." He held up a small, discreet device with a green monitor while smirking. She recognized the object with a start, and her fingers suddenly ached for her whip.

"That's…" she started to speak.

"I heard you were planting things on a certain person," he interrupted. "Things like tracking devices in his coat, for example."

"Hmph," she replied, starting to smile. The smile didn't reach her eyes. "That's just like you. I only planted it there because he was always wearing it." She took out Detective Gumshoe's coat, then made a face and pushed it toward Edgeworth. "This… filthy, drab coat of his… I don't know how it ended up in my luggage. But it's going in the trash, I promise you that." She started towards a nearby trashcan, still holding the coat away from her body."

"Oh, that's right," Edgeworth said, blocking her way. She tried to push past him, but he took the coat from her hands and scrutinized it. "Speaking of that man… He told me something very interesting." He began to check the pockets. "He said something about four pieces of evidence…"

"Four items…?" she asked, surprised. Gumshoe never mentioned a fourth item…

"It seems he put the last one in his coat pocket," he said, starting to turn out the numerous pockets on the large trenchcoat.

"He put it in here…?" Franziska blinked innocently, then suddenly grabbed the coat back as Edgeworth tried to look inside another pocket. Her mouth was grinning arrogantly, but once again the smile didn't reach her eyes… "It doesn't matter anymore. The case is already over."

Franziska was taken aback when Edgeworth dropped the coat, as though he didn't care, which was something he would never do. He lowered his gaze, as though unable to meet her eyes.

"What are you going to do now?" he said quietly.

"That's none of your business," she replied curtly, picking up her suitcase.

"Are you running away?" he said chillingly. For some reason, it didn't sound like a question. He was suddenly boring holes straight into her with cold gray eyes, with emotion different from the almost pained look he had just moments before.

His expression unleashed an explosion of fury in her.

"Shut up!" she shouted bitterly. "You don't understand a thing! You can't possibly understand what it means to be 'Manfred von Karma's daughter'!" The suitcase made a slapping sound when it hit the floor. She didn't even notice dropping it.

"Franziska…" Edgeworth whispered, looking almost betrayed.

"So many expectations from everyone around me," she spat, still seething with anger. "Expectations I must fulfill! I'm expected to win no matter what. And failure? Such a thing is not an option for me!" She shook her head, her jaw clenched tight with frustration. "My father was a genius. There's no doubt about that! But…"

Franziska's voice dropped to a whisper and she looked down at her shoes. For some reason her eyes felt heavy, and her shoes were blurry. "But me… I'm no genius. I've always known that."

She chanced a glance upwards, meeting Edgeworth's stony countenance. Just like him to be so calm and indifferent while another was so upset…

"But I… I had to be one," she continued, the anger returning. "I had to."

Edgeworth took a step towards her. She looked up into his face, surprised. Was he this close when he had first greeted him?

"You may not be a genius like your father…" he said bluntly. The words smarted for some reason, but Franziska kept her face calm. "But… You are a prosecutor. You have been and always will be."

Once again she was surprised. How had Edgeworth changed so much since she had last seen him? And yet, he was still the same Miles Edgeworth she had known since childhood.

"No, I'm not…" she replied, smiling defiantly. "Not anymore. I've even thrown my whip away." She reached down to pick up her suitcase again. The clock said she had 7 minutes left before the flight.

"Speaking of that…" he said, "Wright gave me this to hold onto." Almost magically he pulled the whip out from his briefcase. A mischievous smile crossed his face, though he looked like he was thinking hard about something. Edgeworth's eyebrows suddenly knitted together. Was that a faint blush she saw on his cheeks? No, she scolded herself. Don't be stupid.

"I'm going to say this again," he said sternly. "We prosecutors do not fight for personal honor or pride. I hope you will think deeply… About what you should be striking down with that whip."

She blinked, then suddenly laughed. "You haven't changed a bit…" she grinned. Why on earth was she smiling now? Probably because Edgeworth suddenly looked confused. "You've always…" And then she felt her throat catch, just a little bit, but it was enough to throw her off. She swallowed. "You've always left me alone and walked on ahead without me."

Her eyes suddenly narrowed to slits.

"Miles Edgeworth…" she said icily. "I've always hated you."

Something vulnerable crossed his face the instant she pronounced his name.

"And then…" she added hastily, her insides squirming slightly. For some reason, she felt guilty at the lost look in his eyes. "Finally, my chance to take my revenge on you arrived. If I could win against that man… if I could make Phoenix Wright bow down in defeat… Then this 'girl' you left behind would have risen higher than you!

"That was supposed to be my 'revenge'…."

She relaxed her hand, which she noticed was gripping the handle of the suitcase much too tightly.

A long pause lingered.

"I see…" Edgeworth finally said, very quietly. Franziska interrupted him before he could say anything else.

"You know, I can't do it…. I can't change who I am. I can't throw away everything I've been until today."

"I believe you can. Just like how Adrian Andrews did." He was smirking again.

"Adrian Andrews?" she asked, puzzled.

"You were going to use her during the trial, right?" He nodded to himself. "But you… You were 'dependant' on your father by using his tactics. Isn't that right?"

"Hmph!" she growled, turning away. Once again he had seen right through her.

"Today, you chased after me, after I had left you behind all those years," he continued. His voice was tender, sending a slight chill down her spine. "And that's why we're standing here now, side by side." He didn't stop at the conflicted expression on her face, and his voice suddenly hardened. "But I have no intention of stopping."

Franziska felt her breathing stop. A familiar stinging was starting in her eyes.

"If you say you are going to quit you walk down the prosecutor's path… Then, this is where we part ways, Franziska von Karma."

Her sight blurred as something hot flowed down her cheek. She bit her lip… how could this be? Why did she have to cry now, of all places? Especially in front of Edgeworth!

Another tear escaped

"I… I… I am Franziska von Karma." She whispered, sniffing, trying to scrape her dignity back together. "Don't think I'm going to walk in your shadow forever…"

She didn't know how long they stood there, how long he watched her as she furiously tried to wipe her tears away. It felt much too long… and yet she couldn't stop the tears. Why? She screamed inside her head. Stop crying…

Suddenly she felt him grab her shoulders and shake her gently. Franziska raised her head slowly, meeting a tender gaze that was decidedly not something she had seen Edgeworth use before. He looked like he was about to say something, but his eyebrows knitted again and he remained quiet. There was a moment of electrified silence as they stood there, his hands still gripping her shoulders. Then he slowly slid his hands to her face, touching lightly as a feather against her skin as though he was afraid she would break. Both thumbs met a tear trailing down her cheek, and he wiped them away. Very gently, but firmly, he tilted her head slightly to the side, and then he kissed her.

Never, ever in her wildest dreams had she ever imagined this would happen. Even if she had ever considered the possibility, she would have never, ever expected it to be quite like this. His lips moved almost shyly. He didn't open his mouth. She could feel the heat from his blush, and suddenly realized that this was one thing that even Miles Edgeworth had not expected.

The kiss was brief. When they parted she had barely opened her eyes before he was gone, lost amidst the crowd at the airport. Franziska touched her lips, still slightly moist from their short encounter, and felt her eyes begin to tear up again. She had felt nothing but hatred for him ever since he had come into her life, and anger, and jealousy. There had been no such thing as a brotherly-sisterly love between them.

But, she thought suddenly, didn't she only hate him because he had never shown any sign of loving, or even respecting… hell, at times he never even acknowledged her. She boarded her flight, utterly confused, but defiant and angry all the same.

"Our battle… begins now… so you had better prepare yourself, Miles Edgeworth!"


End file.
